'I'm too scared to fly the flag'

SIR Geoff Hurst, hero of England's 1966 World Cup victory, said he is too frightened to fly with British Airways, fearing the airline could become a target following the 11 September terrorist attacks.

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Hurst, who put three past West Germany's goalkeeper to help secure a 4-2 victory, said he was due to travel to Australia soon - but would probably use an Arab airline.

'We're all concerned in this country it could affect us in some respects as we're linked so closely as allies to the Americans,' Hurst told BBC radio. 'You start thinking about flying now...You think 'am I going to fly BA?'. I'm not sure. It's affecting the airlines of course...I'm going to Australia shortly and I'm not going to fly BA. I'm going to go with an Arab airline.'

Asked why he had chosen an Arab airline, Hurst added: 'Because when they attacked the World Trade Centre, they used American Airlines. We're associated with America. British Airways is a world carrier...so if they're going to do something in the future...they may pick BA.'

BA said: 'Sir Geoff is a valued customer of ours who travelled the world with BA when supporting England's 2006 World Cup bid. So we are surprised at these remarks. We would be more than happy for Sir Geoff to meet our head of security to discuss any concerns he may have.'

The terrorist attacks have triggered a collapse in airline travel, forcing several carriers to the wall and costing tens of thousands of jobs. BA, facing a loss this year of an estimated £775m, has already axed 7,000 jobs and more staff are expected to follow.